Superchips - good or waste of money ?
Discussion
I wondered if Superchips had a good reputation or not ?
They seem quite expensive for what they actually "ARE" but if they do increase performance by as mucgh as they say then they are probably worth it.
Anyone got first hand experience ?
I have 840 and they reckon they can add 11% HP - which is an extra 30HP for £300.
www.superchips.co.uk
They seem quite expensive for what they actually "ARE" but if they do increase performance by as mucgh as they say then they are probably worth it.
Anyone got first hand experience ?
I have 840 and they reckon they can add 11% HP - which is an extra 30HP for £300.
www.superchips.co.uk
These guys, www.dsylva-tech.ca/, are getting good press among the US crowd at £199 a chip. They say their chips are good for the UK market too.
At that price level, I'll be giving them a try on my 540i (M60 engine) once I've got spare cash. Hopefully the exchange rate will still be good.
Edit: $199 not $199. D'oh.
>> Edited by Marshy on Thursday 19th February 23:33
At that price level, I'll be giving them a try on my 540i (M60 engine) once I've got spare cash. Hopefully the exchange rate will still be good.
Edit: $199 not $199. D'oh.
>> Edited by Marshy on Thursday 19th February 23:33
Superchips for NA cars are pretty much a waste of time. for the 200+ quid they ask you only get arounf 8bhp gain. Not really much. Turbos on the other hand are a different kettle of fish. I had a 2003 Audi TDi (130 bhp), and had a superchip, and it is (don't laugh0 blisteringly quick, for what i assume would be a reletively slowish car. fair bit quicker than my mates VR6 vento, and will run rings around Golf GTI's, and such like. It should have a gain of around 30 bhp, and it certainly feels it.
if you want to 'modigy' your motor from stock, and expecting failrly bigish increases you are better off lookin at forced induction cars rather than na's, as they tend to require big bucks to gain anything significant!
blurb over.....
if you want to 'modigy' your motor from stock, and expecting failrly bigish increases you are better off lookin at forced induction cars rather than na's, as they tend to require big bucks to gain anything significant!
blurb over.....
Its not true to say there are no gains on N/A engines, it very much depends on the engine & the softwear used not only within the ECU, but also what type the tuner uses. I've seen a mere 3 bhp gains & also 40bhp gains, so its swings & roundabouts. Throw in a cat bypass & tweeks to metering heads etc & proven 50bhp gains are available or some models.
Using a BMW example bluesatins E46, has a 36bhp gain from ECU mods alone, & this is all with a very reputable tuner & on a rolling road that is actually known to be slightly conservative in its readings.
Superchips are a fair maker of generic chips, the gains can be found on certain models, but particually on N/A engines not as much as cars that are ECU mapped while on the rollers.
Using a BMW example bluesatins E46, has a 36bhp gain from ECU mods alone, & this is all with a very reputable tuner & on a rolling road that is actually known to be slightly conservative in its readings.
Superchips are a fair maker of generic chips, the gains can be found on certain models, but particually on N/A engines not as much as cars that are ECU mapped while on the rollers.
Witchfinder said:
Treat any "chip" claims with skepticism, especially for naturally aspirated engines. Try and get hold of dyno-plots for other people who have had the same thing done to their car.
It really depend on what type of engine management is on the car. If the motor does not use knock sensors, the manufacturer has to keep a wide safety margin to account for a variety of conditions. With a knock sensor and fast processor, it's possible to tune closer to the limit and still meet emissions. The biggest gains are usually found with the older cars. A 1989 - 1993 535i can be transformed with a chip. There is not such a difference in the newer BMW's.
Edit:
I found the pistonheads site last night while performing a Google search on my website URL.
Mark
>> Edited by MarkD'Sylva on Tuesday 24th February 12:42
cotty said:
MarkD'Sylva said:
The biggest gains are usually found with the older cars.
So do you think that I would find (significant) gains on my 1992 BMW 325i E30.
Yes you would. The 325i E30 was not imported to Canada after 1990 as the E36's appeared in 1991 or so.
I won't post info regarding my products here again as it's probably against the rules, but here is a bit of feedback this one time only.
www.maxbimmer.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=24476
www.maxbimmer.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=25354
If there is sufficient interest, I will advertise on this site and make my chips available in the UK. I have about 8 cars in the UK running various chips (3.6l M5, 2.5l E36) with great success.
Mark
>> Edited by MarkD'Sylva on Tuesday 24th February 14:42
Marshy said:
Mark,
What sort of gains are you seeing on the M60 4.0 V8?
Cheers,
--Chris
A chip puts it just over 300 hp.
The problem with those M60's is that there are many versions of software.
I need the number that starts with 1 744... from the DME, and it's even better if you can open it up and read the number starting with 1 267 35x xxx from the stock chip.
I'd be willing to give a few of you in the UK a discount if you would try one, and write up a review on it.
If anyone wants to contact me directly, my email is mark@dsylva-tech.ca
There's some feedback from an M60 owner on my RAVES page.
Mark
numbnuts said:
Ive got a 540 with the m62 engine also.
The chap who does all my diagnostic work reckons he can fit the chip if i can find a reasonably priced one.
They reckon about 20hp increase.
What year is your car? The cars after 1995 (in Canada and the USA) have OBD-II DME's and have a soldered-in FLASH memory. Even if you could remove it and re-install a new chip, there is a lot of anti-hack protection in there. The easiest way to load new code into an OBD-II DME is a serial download via the diagnostic port. If by chance you don't have an OBD-II DME, I could make a version for your car if I had the stock chip. (as a file which you can email if you can remove the EPROM and read it). Do you know what the DME number is? The number usually starts with 0 261 2xx xxx
I'm quite sure you have an OBD-II unit so I won't be able to help.
Mark
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